Insanity is Apparently Contagious
by Taliya
Summary: Takagi Wataru was not quite sure how he had even ended up at a heist, much less participated in one. But teaming up with Edogawa Conan and Kaitou KID, of all people, in order to take out a pair of would-be murderers had definitely not been part of the agenda. Rated for mild violence and language. Written for Poirot Café's Themed Writing Contest #31: Partner.


Detective Conan and Magic Kaito characters, settings, and ideas do not belong to me but to Aoyama Gōshō.

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Warnings: Mild violence, mild language, spoilers for Kaitou KID and the Four Masterpieces (Files 544-47/Episodes 469-70)

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Insanity is Apparently Contagious

By Taliya

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Word Count: 3830

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Assistant Inspector Takagi Wataru was not quite sure how to process the information regarding what he had done, much less _why_ he had done it in the first place. All he knew was that, initially, he had been on his way home when the flashing of a massive number of police lights and people in Chiyoda had attracted his attention. He had pulled over and parked, discovering quickly enough that the patrol cars were there to form a physical blockade around the building that Kaitou KID had specified he would be appearing in to steal his target. The people gathered were Kaitou KID's fans, if their cheering had not been indication enough.

Wataru had made a noise of vague understanding and, though curious, had been about to turn tail and leave the Division Two officers to do their duty when a shout of, "Takagi-keiji!" had him pausing. It was a young, childish voice that he had heard _far_ too many times at the scene of a crime—usually involving a dead body.

He spun and exclaimed, "Conan-kun!" upon seeing the seven-year-old boy racing towards him. "What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, kneeling so that he was near eye level with the youth. "This is not normally a place for children."

Conan grinned unrepentantly. "I solved the heist notice _way_ before Nakamori-keibu and his team did this time, so he allowed me to participate with Ran-nee-chan's permission," he chirruped brightly with a proud puff of his chest. There was an eagerness in his eyes that Wataru had never seen before. Normally Conan's blue orbs were piercing, serious, and far too old and weary for someone as young as he—and why not, what with how often the boy encountered deaths of the more grisly variety? And yet now, looking at the primary school student beaming at him, he looked every bit his physical age, anticipation at the looming challenge lighting up his face.

Seeing that expression on Conan's face eased something within Wataru's chest that he had not even realized had been wound taut with tension—and with a start, he realized it had been concern for the young boy's mental and emotional health. The sincere excitement sparkling in the youth's eyes told the older homicide detective that Conan had not yet become jaded by his seemingly inadvertent encounters with death and the darker side of humanity. It gave him hope that Conan might still retain that vivacious zeal for life that had so characterized his own childhood.

"I'm glad they let you join," he said softly with a smile, and Conan cocked his head in quizzical fashion, unsure of how to relate to Wataru's relieved and slightly wistful tone.

"Ne ne, Takagi-keiji," Conan said with enthusiasm, shaking off his earlier confusion with the ease only children seemed capable of, "do you want to join in the chase?"

"I would—wait…" Wataru blinked, unsure he had heard correctly. _"Chase?"_

Conan nodded sharply in confirmation. "Kaitou KID-san always performs his show first, and then there is always a chase afterwards—sort of like a fox and hounds."

"And… you're being allowed in this… chase?" Wataru found it a little hard to imagine young Conan being able to physically keep up with the men of Division Two—or KID, for that matter. Though to be fair, he _had_ heard of the rumors surrounding Conan regarding his uncanny ability to come the closest of anyone to cornering the thief during their past confrontations. So perhaps the boy _could_ keep up after all.

"Yup!" he chirped. "So will you come?"

Wataru chuckled apprehensively. "Ah, why do you want me to come with you, Conan-kun?" _You're not expecting a body to show up, are you? And why a KID heist? The_ one _time I got myself involved with KID, I ended up being sedated and stuffed inside a duffle bag disguised as Chiba._ He took a moment to reflect on how utterly _absurd_ that last thought sounded and mentally grimaced.

Conan stuffed his hands in his pockets and peered up at him. "I think you need to have some fun, Takagi-keiji," he intoned solemnly.

 _I—what?_ Wataru blinked. "Have… fun…?"

The youth's brows crinkled with worry. "You're always so stressed and tired looking, Takagi-keiji. Maybe you need to try a solving a puzzle that doesn't have a life on the line. It's why I come to Kaitou KID-san's heists whenever I can."

"Conan-kun," the homicide detective murmured, touched by his concern. _Do I really look that bad…? Maybe I_ have _been wound a bit tight as of late…_ With a soft smile, Wataru answered, "If Nakamori-keibu will allow me, I'd be happy to join in."

Conan cheered, then grabbed his hand and hauled him deeper into the one-night-only territory of Kaitou KID. Wataru was, frankly, amazed at how quickly the brusque inspector caved to the young boy's request, mumbling how it was "probably better for the brat to have a guardian here". Wataru was not quite sure how to feel about that, considering that he, as the newbie to this whole operation, was very much being led around by the nose by a seven year old, and therefore felt as though _he_ were the one with the guardian—not Conan.

The child led him to the spacious room on the fortieth floor of the office building where KID's target—an emerald-cut blue topaz called the Ladybird Topaz—was proudly displayed, explaining to him the various security mechanisms that Nakamori had put in place in order to ensnare the phantom thief. The inspector's methods were very… creative, and from what he could tell, there was no easy method of escape to his inexperienced eyes.

"Here," Conan murmured, and nudged Wataru's hand with a gas mask. "KID-san has an occasional habit of using knockout gas at his heists. Keep it handy."

"… huh…" Somehow, the term "anxious" barely began to describe how badly his stomach was churning at the moment. That, and an ominous sort of feeling had suddenly decided to settle in his bones. It was the same sensation he sometimes felt right as a call came in to report a dead body. He prayed to every god listening that there would be none of that this night.

The countdown began to KID's appointed appearance time, and Wataru felt a knot of anticipation form in his gut from his vantage point near the center of the room. This would be his second time attending a Kaitou KID heist, and he had a peculiar feeling he would never forget this experience—especially since he had been unconscious for the whole of his first one. The lights went out right as Nakamori called the time. There were three seconds of complete darkness before a single spotlight switched on, revealing a white figure kneeling on the display case with a matching cape draping down the sides to puddle on the floor.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The voice was a smooth, soothing tenor, the tone so velvety as to almost feel like a physical caress as Kaitou KID gracefully rose from his crouched position to stand proudly above the rest. His hat was pulled low over his face, obscuring it in shadow—though Wataru could detect a hint of a smug smirk in the darkness. When his cape had lifted from the display, he was utterly amazed to discover that the gem was _gone_.

" _KID!"_ the inspector roared, and the homicide detective jumped at the sheer decibel level Nakamori was capable of producing. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME!" A series of extendable steel bars rose from the floor, pressing into the ceiling and effectively caging the phantom thief.

KID shrugged in answer as the Ladybird Topaz winked into existence in the thief's gloved hands. "I'm pretty sure I will, Keibu, _and_ with my prize." The topaz disappeared with a flourish of fingers that resulted in a burst of flame that hovered over his palm. He lifted the ball of fire to his face to give it a gentle blow, and off to the side Wataru absently noticed Conan raise his watch in a rather peculiar manner. Lines of flames radiated from KID's hand and through the bars of his prison, weaving intricate arabesques across the open space between the floor and the ceiling well above the heads of the magician's spectators.

It was, perhaps, one of the most gorgeous things Wataru had ever seen, watching the flames lick their way in a concentrically spreading circle while outlining delicate arcs and swirls. With his audience satisfactorily captivated, the magician bowed with sweep of his cloak as he murmured, "Well then, I bid you all good evening," and vanished in one of multiple bursts of white smoke that doused the entire hall as the fires finally reached the extremities of the cavernous space and extinguished themselves.

"Takagi-keiji, mask!" Conan shouted, and Wataru barely managed to slide his on before the billowing clouds of what was apparently knock out gas enfolded him. Through the haze, he could make out the forms of various Division Two members, who had all tugged masks of their own on. Wataru glanced around in the gloom, unable to see beyond two meters out. A series of whistles filled the air, and the detective watched in utter amazement as playing cards, perfectly aimed, sliced through the straps holding the gas masks to his surrounding policemen's faces. The Task Force, in quick succession, dropped like flies, scattered and unconscious about the floor.

The homicide detective felt a small hand grab his hand with a quick, "This way!" and haul him off in a direction he was too disoriented to tell. The act of the actual theft had been so fast and so clean that Wataru, despite himself, was utterly floored by Kaitou KID's abilities. Add in his flair for showmanship, and had he not known the magician was also a thief, and he would have never known something had been stolen in the first place.

Wataru stumbled after the surprisingly strong boy, Conan leading him _up_ an emergency stairwell. _We're going to the roof?_ he wondered as he trailed behind the young homicide detective, but realized after hearing the bang of the door above them that Conan had likely predicted the thief would take this particular path of escape. The two of them neared the exit but skidded to a halt on the landing as the unmistakable _ping_ of a bullet slammed into the metal barrier. Both of them froze, and Wataru closed his eyes in resignation as he recalled that ominous feeling from earlier. It looked as though his gut instinct had been right after all.

He wrenched off the gas mask and pulled out his gun more from habit than any real desire to shoot something—or some _one_ —and checked how much ammunition he had even as he grew ever more hopelessly confused. There were people gunning after KID? Why had he never heard of this before? Granted, he tended to reserve his mental capacities for homicides, but even something like _this_ should have crossed his radar at some point in time, what with how interdepartmental gossip worked. Shuffling Conan behind him protectively with gun at the ready, he paused before easing the exit the door open just a hair.

"—ver and we won't kill you." The male speaker's voice was gruff but mocking.

"You are going to kill me whether or not I hand it over, so why should I make it easy?" KID's voice was all lilts and whimsy, though the homicide detective could hear an edge of steel ringing beneath his words.

"Just hand the gem over," growled a second male voice. "I'll make sure it's quick."

"Well aren't you the kind one," the magician retorted tightly, derision plain in his tone.

"Takagi-keiji," Conan whispered urgently as he tugged at his pant leg to get his attention, "We need to do _something_!"

Wataru nodded, frowning as he thought. He was not familiar with the way KID thought—though to be fair, if anyone did, they would assuredly be certifiably crazy—but he had a hunch that Conan was able to at least keep pace with the magician's methods to his madness. The boy was also knew more about KID's physical capabilities, and Wataru knew situations like this were best handed to those with experience: in this case a mix between his police training and Conan's knowledge of the thief.

"We need backup," the detective said, but Conan shook his head.

"They're all asleep downstairs, and I'm pretty sure KID's disabled the elevators. It'd take too long for the officers on the perimeter to climb forty-one flights of stairs, and they'd be tired before getting here."

 _So what do I have at my disposal: myself and an extremely intelligent_ child _, one gun fully loaded with one spare clip, one potentially injured, chaos-inducing victim, and at least two hostiles with an unknown number of firearms._ Wataru resisted the urge to whimper. _This does not look good at_ all _._

His face must have expressed something, for Conan reached out and murmured with eyes that were suddenly _far_ too sharp and knowledgeable, "Don't worry, Takagi-keiji, between the three of us, we're more than capable of holding our own."

Wataru wanted to ask, _How can you be so sure?_ but never had the chance, for Conan threw a shoulder into the door and tucked and rolled out of the exit. The man swore he felt his heart stop for several seconds out of sheer terror.

A startled burst of silenced gunfire had followed Conan's rather dramatic entrance; a moment of silence, and then his child's voice shouted, "KID! Are you okay?"

The homicide detective crouched and peered cautiously around the now open doorway, the moonlight dimly illuminating two standing figures. Neither of their silhouettes were that of KID's. Conan was crouched behind an HVAC directly opposite the stairwell entrance, hidden from the two apparently armed men. The magician himself was beyond Wataru's immediate line of sight.

Kaitou KID chuckled, the sound echoing almost sinisterly amongst the humming units. "I've certainly been better," he greeted conversationally, as though they were not in the midst of potentially being shot at by two distinctly trigger happy men. "Though—this might be something you'll want to sit out of, Tantei-kun. My other friends here tonight are not all that receptive to additional guests—I think you two need to grow a few more eyeballs!" The last was directed at his two assailants. As he yelled out the last bit, KID leapt out of his hiding spot, zigzagging and rolling to avoid being hit by the barrage of bullets that trailed him.

"Just hand over the damn rock," one of the men growled. They both ceased firing when KID seemed content to hide behind another HVAC, starting up their shooting once more as KID continued to move across the roof. The night was filled with a mix of taunts, curses, and ringing metal.

The thief made his way further from the stairwell, and with a start, Wataru realized that KID was trying to lead the men away from where both he and Conan were—though it was likely that the magician thought that Conan was alone. A thrill of admiration ran through him at the observation that KID honestly was trying his best to keep those in attendance at his heists injury-free.

Seeing as how the two men had quietly decided to split up in order to search the roof for their target—it seemed as though they had forgotten about Conan for the moment—Wataru caught Conan's attention and motioned for him to somehow indicate to KID that he planned on disarming the man stalking towards them. He did not want to alert the two men to his presence, and had to hope that Conan was as smart as Wataru believed he was to not only understand what Wataru was signaling him for, but to also convey a coded message to the thief. That, and that KID was intelligent enough to understand the message for what it was. It was a very risky gamble.

Conan nodded and sighed loudly before petulantly complaining, "Why are there flies all the way up _here_? Just want to get rid of them—" His voice portrayed his annoyance, and the following grunt was as though he had tried to swat at one. As it was a warm summer night, it was not entirely unreasonable for there to be insects about—but as it was also rather breezy this high up, it made the chances of finding the bugs much less probable.

KID chuckled and replied, "Need a little help with pest control there, Tantei-kun?"

"I'm covered," the boy answered, "but I think you need to worry about yourself."

The timing was perfect. Right as Conan finished his reply, the man Wataru had been aiming at stepped into a comfortable shooting distance. The homicide detective fired, his aim true as the man's pistol flew from his suddenly damaged hands. The man shrieked, and as Wataru took to his feet in order to tackle the man, Conan took that opportunity to fiddle with his watch. The homicide detective skidded to a halt, befuddled, as his target, oddly enough, swallowed his screams and slumped to the floor. Almost simultaneous to Wataru's own shot, the other man yelped before he, too, sank beneath the horizon of the various air conditioning units on the rooftop.

Conan pattered further away from the stairwell to check that the man was truly out—to Wataru's frantic anxiety. Really, that task should have been left for him to perform, but Conan had reached the man before Wataru could, and it had just about given him a heart attack watching him fearlessly check the man's pulse. "He's out cold," he confirmed before twisting on his heel and calling out, "KID?"

"My half of the bothersome duo's been neutralized." Kaitou KID emerged from the shadows beneath the light of the full moon, his left sleeve featuring a darkened, frayed slash in the dim lighting. "I see you've brought a friend, Tantei-kun," he said to Conan before his gaze shifted to the homicide detective. KID nodded respectfully and said with utter sincerity, "Thank you for your help tonight, Takagi-keiji."

"Ah, I—it was nothing!" he stammered back, not quite able to believe that he was casually conversing with an internationally wanted felon immediately after resolving a near-shootout situation.

"Who are they?" Conan demanded quietly, his voice authoritative in a way Wataru had never heard before.

KID grinned widely. "No one you need to be concerned about, Tantei-kun," he trilled with his maddening lilt as he bent to tie the unconscioius man's hands and feet with scarves. "I've also tied the other one up, by the way."

The boy scowled. "They were _shooting_ at you."

"And I survived," the thief nonchalantly answered with a hum. "Your point?"

"My _point_ ," Conan snarled, "is that you could have been killed! You could have died tonight! How could you have been so careless—"

Wataru's attention was caught between two extremely interesting scenarios. First there was Conan—Wataru had never seen the boy _quite_ so animated before—who was practically foaming at the mouth with how upset he was at the thief. And then there was Kaitou KID…

While Conan ranted, KID flicked his wrist, producing the Ladybird Topaz and holding it up to the moon. Wataru could not help but wonder what exactly the magician was looking for within the stone. The thief stared at it for a moment before sighing. "Not quite what I'm looking for," he bemoaned, interrupting Conan's rant and unceremoniously tossing the gem Wataru's way. "Here." The homicide detective squawked in surprise and fumbled the gem, managing to catch it as his eyes rose bewilderedly to meet the magician's shaded stare. KID's lips grinned rakishly. "Consider it a welcome gift, Takagi-keiji," he said as he spun in a swirl of white and made his way towards the edge of the rooftop with quick, sure steps.

"I'm not done talking to you yet," Conan snapped, scrambling to catch up to the magician.

"But I'm afraid you are," KID replied as he tilted forwards and took a swan dive off the corner of the roof. "See you later, Tantei-kun, Takagi-keiji!" His voice echoed in the yawning space between the surrounding office buildings as he deployed his glider and flew off into the night. Conan cursed quietly under his breath, clearly frustrated as he stared after the rapidly disappearing thief.

Wataru approached the boy, his hands still clenching the Ladybird Topaz. "Conan-kun… Is KID-san… always like— _this_?" he asked, glancing down at the shiny topaz in his palm.

"Hm?" Conan hummed, turning eyes that glowed luminously under the moonlight at the homicide detective. "Yeah, KID-san's a bit… peculiar like that," he remarked, grinning in a way that seemed to speak of inside jokes and shared secrets. The boy returned his gaze to the open skies and said softly, "He's the only criminal I know of with a soft spot for us detectives. He doesn't intentionally hurt any participant of his heists. He's a thief. He's a criminal. He's contrary and he's cunning and he's utterly _crazy_. But—" He paused, and Wataru unconsciously held his breath, waiting for the boy to finish his thought. "But ultimately, he's a good person. Whatever reason it is that he steals, it's probably something worth risking his life for." Conan switched his gaze back to Wataru, his young face solemn and earnest. "What do you think?"

The homicide detective fiddled with the Ladybird Topaz. What _did_ he think of the eccentric magician thief? "I think—" Wataru thought back on tonight, and how the phantom thief had, in his own way, tried to protect those he knew were not equipped to deal with armed and dangerous adversaries. "He's insane," he concluded, but a somewhat reluctantly fond smile crept across his lips. "And… I suppose I can forgive him for stuffing me in a duffle bag disguised as Chiba." Conan's surprised laughter echoed brightly in the night, and Wataru was utterly content to hear it. "We should head back and return this," he said, indicating the Ladybird Topaz. "And we should also check to see if everyone's woken up yet—after I call for help to take these two guys in."

Conan nodded as the detective pulled out his phone. "You've never heard Nakamori-keibu after a heist, have you?" Wataru paused in the act of dialing headquarters and shook his head, confused and a little worried at the devious smirk that graced the boy's face and the accompanying snicker. "Oh, are _you_ in for a treat…"

Wataru sent a silent prayer heavenwards before hitting the "Call" button. _I never thought that insanity could be contagious, because between KID and Conan—and now_ me _… I have a feeling I haven't seen the end of these two yet._

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Author's Note: The idea of Wataru ending up at a KID heist has long been an idea of mine, though I'd never bothered to write it out. I'm not quite sure how well I like this, but I wanted so badly to pair Wataru up with KID when I saw this prompt—and this is the result. My apologies if it feels a little disjointed, as I wrote this in fits and starts… Oh well. I hope you enjoyed it.

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Completed: 20.02.2017


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